Mr. Speaker, during January I took the opportunity to meet with a great number of my constituents. I also held a number of prebudget consultations.

From the broad spectrum of people I consulted, including business owners and employees, financial leaders and academic leaders, seniors and students, new Canadians and long-time Canadians, moms and dads, I kept hearing how people are focused on our economic recovery.

I received much feedback and I heard innovative suggestions. I can assure each and every one of the wonderful citizens who gave so freely of their time and expertise to my budget consultations that their comments were sent directly to the Minister of Finance.

The citizens of Winnipeg South Centre are being heard, and I am listening. After a very long time, they now have a voice in government.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to remind the House that today, February 9, is World Wildlife Fund Canada's second National Sweater Day. I would therefore like to encourage all members to lower their thermostats and wear their favourite sweaters in order to take action against climate change and work toward a sustainable future.

Last year, over 300 organizations took part in National Sweater Day. Everything is ready so that, this year, many other organizations can join the campaign. I would especially like to recognize WWF-Canada for the important work it is doing to further the environmental movement in Canada.

By rethinking our energy use, we can have a considerable impact on climate change. I would like to share a statistic that I found striking: if every Canadian turned down the thermostat by two degrees Celsius each winter, 2.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved every year, which is equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road.

So let us put on our sweaters and work together to make the world a better place for our grandchildren.

Verne served his country for four years in World War II, along with his brothers Hugh, Graham and Allan. Canada owes a large debt of gratitude to the Kneale family.

Verne was recognized for his many achievements as a Shriner, businessman, veteran and church trustee. He loved politics. His fun-loving nature and sense of humour endeared him to many. His ethos of service to family, community, church and country infused his life with energy and purpose.

My dear friend Verne's life was and always be an inspiration to those who were privileged to know him.

This national campaign, promoted by the World Wildlife Fund and Loblaws, encourages people to lower their thermostats and put on a sweater to stay warm while saving energy and helping our environment.

Individuals, organizations, companies, schools and campuses across Canada are turning down their thermostats and people are wearing sweaters of all types, whether it is that hand-knitted sweater made by grandma that is never worn, that store-bought hoodie that is worn all the time, or a favourite hockey jersey that is only worn on game day.

The goal of this initiative is to raise awareness about the importance of valuing energy in Canada and bringing out the best conservation efforts in all of us.

National Sweater Day is just another great example of how small changes in behaviour both at home and at work can have a positive impact on our planet.

I encourage all Canadians to turn down the heat and wear a warm, cozy sweater today.

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Gatineau's Radio Oxygène. This is the only radio station of its kind in Canada; its goal is to teach young people how radio works. I suspect that the station's budding hosts and reporters, such as Lily Kassab, will one day be waiting for us outside the House, ready to ask us the tough questions.

I also had the honour of discussing politics with students from Collège Saint-Alexandre, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Philippe Falardeau is among the school's alumni. The students are visiting Parliament today to learn more about our political system, and I was very pleased to welcome them and their exceptional teachers.

I would also like to congratulate Olivier Rochon, a young Gatineau athlete—whose father, Martin, is an interpreter here in the House—on his success. “Ollywood,” as he is known, recently won a gold and a bronze at the Freestyle Ski World Cup, a remarkable achievement.

I am proud to represent these young people. Their smiles and their enthusiasm energize me daily. I invite all of my House of Commons colleagues to salute their contributions to community life, politics and sport in the riding of Gatineau.

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Urban Transit Association and its members are in Ottawa today to meet with MPs in order to increase awareness about public transit issues.

I rise here today to congratulate our government on its record and on its efforts to make public transit a key part of our communities. Thanks to a variety of measures and funding sources, our investments have improved all aspects of public transit throughout communities of all sizes. In fact, since 2006, our government has invested over $5 billion in public transit, more than any previous government.

We remain fully committed to working with our partners in order to create a long-term infrastructure plan that meets the needs of Canadians and continues to support economic growth and job creation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great Manitoban, a dedicated politician and a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber, Larry Desjardins.

Through a political career that spanned three decades, Larry's legacy helped shape the great province of Manitoba.

As a former NDP cabinet minister and adviser to many NDP premiers, Larry's fingerprints can be found on the country's first publicly funded auto insurance plan, Canada's first universal home care plan, and even the creation of the City of Winnipeg through amalgamation in 1974.

A great athlete and champion of amateur sport, Larry scored stable funding for the province's sports programs.

Most of all, Larry is remembered as a man of principle, courage and conviction.

Premier Greg Selinger called him “a true champion” of Manitoba who left “a profound impact on our community, our province and in many respects, our nation”. He is right.

Our condolences go out to Larry's wife, Mel, and his entire family.

The people of Manitoba will always be grateful for the dedication and service of Larry Desjardins to our province.

Mr. Speaker, our government was deeply disappointed to learn that Uganda's parliament will consider a bill that would further criminalize homosexuality and impose draconian punishments simply for being gay.

As Canadians, legislation like this flies in the face of our fundamental core values. We firmly believe it is the role of the state to protect its citizens, to inform them about the irreparable harm that intolerance and hate cause, and to accept those who may be different into their society.

Canada will continue to push this message to those countries which seek to impose these punitive measures.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs said to the Commonwealth community in the United Kingdom, although we as Canadians are across miles of ocean, we will not plead ignorance to the plight of those who are targeted solely on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to congratulate my city, the City of Vancouver, which last night won the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Sustainable Community Award in the category of planning.

Through its innovative action plan, the City of Vancouver plans to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Fuelled by an inspiring vision to create a healthy and sustainable future for Vancouver, the city has set targets in a number of areas: the economy, greenhouse gases, waste, construction, transportation, air, water and food. This is one of the largest challenges ever taken on by a city in Canada, but this exercise also comes with tremendous economic opportunities.

I offer my sincere congratulations to Vancouver's mayor, councillors, staff and 30,000 sustainable communities volunteers for their dedication to creating a sustainable future for all.

Mr. Speaker, the situation in the Maldives is quite concerning. Canada calls on all parties to remain calm in the wake of this week's rapid political transition.

We are also concerned with the safety of the former president, Mohammed Nashid.

We call upon the new government to ensure the safety of all citizens. We also expect that those responsible for the violence will be brought to swift justice.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, will give due consideration to calling for that instrument to meet as circumstances in the Maldives may require, and is carefully assessing developments on the ground in that respect.

I know all hon. members join me in expressing hope that all sides will exercise calm and ensure a return to order so that Maldivians can prosper and benefit from freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all.

Mr. Speaker, the government is starting to unravel. On Tuesday, the member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound apologized to the House for comparing the long gun registry to Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, we now know that apology was fake.

In a story printed this morning, the member repeated and firmly defended his Nazi comparison. He told a reporter he only partially retracted his comments and went on to say, “the similarities between the two are very clear and you can’t convince me of otherwise...what I said was the truth”. Canadians know that comparing a political opponent to the man who murdered millions is despicable and offensive to victims of the Holocaust.

With the Prime Minister out of the country less than a week, the wheels are already coming off the Conservative caucus bus. Talking about abortion, capital punishment, torture and now Adolf Hitler are not the priorities of Canadian families.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 228,000 people who live in Canada's largest riding, Oak Ridges—Markham, I am pleased by what our government has accomplished in China this week.

A key achievement is the three year renewal of the memorandum of understanding related to the Canada-China scholars' exchange program. We know that international learning opportunities are key to increasing understanding of our world.

Over the years, education ties between Canada and China have expanded significantly. For example, in 2010, over 60,000 Chinese students studied in Canada, representing close to 28% of international students and contributing almost $1.9 billion to the Canadian economy.

The agreements signed in the past few days in such a wide range of areas show that we are taking relations to the next level and further strengthening our strategic partnership. This is good news for Canadian students, small and medium-sized businesses, workers and their families.

Rest assured that despite the NDP opposition, our government is focused on pursuing opportunities for Canadian exporters—

Mr. Speaker, there is no compromising when it comes to torture. Either we are for it or we are against it. The government says that it does not employ torture, but it is okay if others do so. The Conservatives would use information obtained at any cost. The Conservatives cannot ignore international conventions. The government is not above the laws of Canada. The law is the law.

Mr. Speaker, our government has always obeyed the law, and our position is very clear: Canada does not condone the use of torture and does not engage in this practice. That is clear. CSIS and its employees are subject to Canadian law. That continues to be our government's position.